Claim: ATF Said Police Okayed 'Meet the Press' Gun Stunt

The story of David Gregory’s Meet the Press rifle magazine stunt is getting a bit more complicated. A new report says that NBC was actually told that waving the 30-round magazine on TV would not be against the law.

The report says that law enforcement officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) were contacted by staffers from Meet the Press asking whether or not using the 30-round rifle magazine on the air in the Washington, D.C. studios would be a violation of the law.

After the inquiry by NBC, the ATF contacted D.C. police and claim that the police told them that as long as the rifle magazine was empty, it would not be a violation of the city’s strict gun-ban laws.

D.C. police, however, are now saying quite the opposite.

D.C. police released a statement today, saying “NBC contacted the Metropolitan Police Dept. inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for this segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazine is not permissible and the request was denied.”